


while your lips are still red

by stable_girl



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 07:46:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9874193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stable_girl/pseuds/stable_girl
Summary: Based on the events of A Friend In Need, right before they go to battle.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first piece of fanfiction I've wrote, and English is not my firt language so I'm sorry.

_First day of love never comes back,_  
_a passionate hour's never a wasted one._

It had been a very strange couple of days and Xena had acted even stranger around me the entire morning. She was keeping something from me, I could tell, but like every other time, she must have her reasons.

 

Being by her side for all those years, I was pretty used to the whole “ _I must make things right_ ” act. Redeeming her past was the one constant thing on my partner’s mind, and it didn’t matter how many times I told her she’d changed, or how many innocent lives we saved, she never thought it was enough. She never thought _she_ was enough.

 

So instead of following her around, I walked through the camp. These folks weren’t like the other soldiers we’ve come to know. Instead of drinking and fuckin - which is what Greek and Roman men liked to do before a great battle, most of them would rather stay in their tents and meditate, seeking the focus and guidance to go to war.

 

I know what Xena likes to do before fighting a big battle - now there’s a true Greek warrior. She likes to get her blood running and her heart beating faster when about to face an unknown enemy, which is why I found it unsettling she hadn’t come to seek my company as of yet. But like I said, she was acting rather strange since we had arrived on this land.

 

I knew she was dealing with something from her past and I knew she liked to be left alone in moments like this, so I spend my morning supervising the soldiers and making sure everything was going according to our plan. We were to launch a surprise attack in two different fronts, Xena would create a diversion while I lead the east army.

 

I was at the wall, trading words with the commander in charge when a young man approached us:

 **“Forgive me,”** he young lad working as the Ghost Killer’s messenger bowed his head when standing in front of me, waiting for permission to talk

 **“Yes?”** **  
** **“Xena would like to see you.”**

 **“Thank you, Kenji.”**  I smiled kindly at him as he again made another reverence and stepped aside so I could pass. **“Make sure your men are ready to go, I’d like to start marching before the night is upon us.”** I said to the army’s leader as I made my way to where I knew Xena would be waiting for me.

 

I walked straight to the room they had given us at the camp. The walls were a thin clapboard made of wood and it didn’t do much against the cold nights of winter, which is why we kept the fireplace burning during the day. It didn’t have a bed, none of the resting places had, instead, we slept in thick mattress laid on the wooden floor.

 

 **“Xena, the militia is prepared.”** I said as I walked into our room. The woman was sitting across the fireplace, resting on her feet, her hands laying on top of her legs. Something was wrong. **“Why aren’t you ready?”** I asked as I approached her.

 

She wasn’t wearing her usual leather armor, I noticed. Instead she had on something I assumed the people of this land had given her:  a couple of bracelets made of gold as a form to shield de arms, golden breastplate that showed her muscled abdomen and an equally golden skirt with a red silk fabric underneath it - _that doesn't protect much_ , I thought to myself.

 

 **“Gabrielle, come here.”** The muscles of her back were tensed, I noticed when I sat in front of her, copying her posture. I took a deep breath as I let eyes wander throught the room, the air was thick, although I couldn’t tell if it was because of the smoke coming from the fireplace of because of something else entirely. **“Come here. Take my hands.”** I heard the brunnett say in that deep, low voice I’ve grown to love. _Where those- where those tears in her eyes?_

 

 **“All right.”** I said, trying not to sound as concerned as I truly felt, looking at her with questioning eyes. **“Here. Feel the surge of blood under the skin.”** Xena took my hands and placed my fingertips against the sides of her neck, right under her throat. **“Now, just behind--”** I could feel her blood rushing, her heated skin beneath mine.

 

I knew what she was doing **“Xena… you don’t have to do this.”** I tried to dismiss her, taking my hands off of her pulsating neck, but she took a stronger hold of them, determined to not let me go **“I understand why you would never wanna teach me the pinch.”** I shook my head, giving her one of my warm, bright smiles, trying to hide the strange feeling I felt inside my stomach. After all this time, of years of me trying to trick her into teaching me this, _now_ she thought it was the right time? Really? In the middle of a freaking battle? With a freaking ancient demon, nonetheless!

 

 **“Today more than ever, I want you to know what I know.”** once again she placed my hands on her skin and begged me, her voice shaking **“Please.”** she pressed my fingers so hard against her own skin, I feared the pressured alone would break her neck. I could feel the muscles that hid her carotid artery sinking beneath the tips of my fingers. And then, nothing. No blood rushing through, no heat coming from her skin. Nothing.

 

I waited a split second for her to undo the pinch **“Xena, why are you doing this?”** I stared into those deep blue eyes, my voice finally betraying my self control, giving in the panic I started to feel when I saw her begin to look a bit pale. She was clenching her eyes, as if they were having a hard time focusing.

 

 **“Gabrielle,”** I never heard her speaking like this. The voice that was the most calming and peaceful sound to my heart was now making it ache as if a sword had been placed throught my chest **“if I only had 30 seconds to live, this is how I’d want to live them. Looking into your eyes.”** I could feel her life slipping through my fingers, blood coming out of her nose, just like it happened to every enemy she ever used it on. But this time it wasn’t some cruel villain, it was her, the love of my every life, my soul mate. What in tartarus was this. If this is her idea of a joke-- _Why wasn’t she undoing the pinch?_

 

I have faced giants and gods, I have been taken into the Devil’s arms and carried his child, I have been to hell and back - literally. Trust me, I’ve know fear, but believe me when I say, I have never felt so scared my entire life. **“Stop this.”** my cracked voice was barely a whisper **“Stop it!”** I begged again as I saw tears coming down her eyes. I must’ve been crying too, because I could feel my face getting wet.

 

 **“Always remember, I love you.”** she forced herself to give me a half smile. She knew I love those, that’s why she always saved them for me. But it didn’t calmed and eased my mind, like it always does. I opened my mouth to scream at her, but before I could form any words, she once again pressed my own fingers against that same delicate spot, blood rushing beneath it, like it had never stopped doing so. Her body came crashing down, I rushed to hold her in my arms, my hands on her shoulder to keep her still.

 

Suddenly, I was screaming, not even aware of the words coming out of my lips **“Why would you teach me this right now?”** I was no longer scared, I was furious. What gave her the impression she had the right to play me like this? What in Zeus’ name was she thinking? **“I don’t understand!”** I was shaking her, my eyes glassy from the tears coming down from it. _What wasn’t she telling me?_

 

 **“There’s nothing to understand. I just wanted you to know everything I know.”** I froze. Did she even realized what she had said? _‘You’ve got to take me with you! Teach me everything you know.’_.

 

 **“That was one of the first things I said to you when we first met in Potedaia.”** I told her, though I was not sure she could hear me, for my voice was but a whisper. **“Do you regret it? Leaving your home, your family?”** I heard she say, but I couldn’t wrap my head around my thoughts. I was not sure when it was that I closed my eyes, but I opened them when I felt her hands against my cheeks, washing the wet path the tears left behind.

 

 **“You, Xena. You are my family.”** I stared into her eyes. She didn’t smiled at me this time. Instead, she closed her lips tight, as if it to stop herself from saying something **“** **_You_ ** **are my life.”** I said as I reached to grasp the lock of hair falling on her face and put it behind her ear, the other hand laying over her hand, still caressing my cheeks **“Promise me you’ll come back to me.”** I closed my eyes, not wanting to see her reaction.

 

I knew Xena didn’t make promises she couldn’t keep. That’s why when she didn’t answered me, a sob I didn’t know I was holding escaped from my lips. I felt her breath on my skin right before I felt her lips, sealed against my own. Her silence was all the answer I needed.

Just like that, we were both standing on our knees, our bodies immediately closing whatever distance was left between us. Like two magnets that are attract to each other, we pulled our chests together, the clench of our armors sounding like the fight of swords. But there was no fighting.

 

Our moves mirrored each other, as we pulled one another’s hair, my free hand feeling the skin beneath the toned muscles of her abdomen. I could feel her thicked warrior hands caressing the length of my exposed arms, a barely audible gasp escaping from her lips when I scratched her waist with whatever was left of my nails. We both opened our eyes at the same moment, locking our gazes for what it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, but for what it felt like a dozen lifetimes.

 

We always described ourselves as soulmates, but I guess we never fully comprehend the meaning of it until that very moment. We had been told, many times, from many people, that we would always find each other, and I had never doubt that, but at that moment, _I felt it_. And even though my heart was beating like it was trying to escape from my chest, I felt my whole self being filled with such a peace I had never felt my entire life. On that moment, I knew that it didn’t matter how today ended, Xena would come back to me, and I would go back to her. And I saw in her eyes that she knew it too.

 

Like not a second had passed, we were all over each other again. Her teeth biting my bottom lip when I caressed her naked tights, just to leave my mouth and leave a hot trail all the way to my ear, her lips feeling like the everburning _fogomaldito_ . **_“Armor”_ ** she whispered, her voice low and husky, letting me know just how much she wanted me.

 

 **_“I think I’ll need some help to get out of this thing”_ ** I said with a small laugh, which sounded more like a growl. We both got up as I turned my back to her. Xena did a quick job on loosening the ties behind my back - she was summat experienced on undressing armors. My vest didn’t even hit the ground when I felt myself being lifted and my back pushed against the nearest wall behind us.

 

I wrapped my legs around her waist as Xena spread both her hands against my ass. We shared another passionate kiss, my hands closed tightly on her hair and she pressed herself against me, the feeling of her cold armor against my naked skin sending a shiver down my spine. I opened my eyes when I felt her lips leaving mine, and I saw those deep blue oceans staring back at me. She calmly teased her way down to my breasts with her tongue, never once looking away, she pressed her tongue against my hardened niple and I heard myself gasp, holding a stronger grasp of her hair. She flicked the tip of her tongue around my nipple and let out a little laugh - she always was so full of herself.

 

As I started to unlace her armor, she bited and sucked my breast, stroking my other nipple with her heated tongue. When her breastplate fell to the ground, I pulled her hair, bringing her face up and her lips back to mine, to a much more hungry kiss. Our now equally naked chest pushed against each other, her perfectly round breasts rubbing against my own, her head falling back as I started kissing her neck and biting her earlobe **_“Gabrielle”_ **.

My hands travelled down her waist as I urged to untie the cloth belt that tied her skirt. I could feel her skin creeping under my touch, and so Xena moved us once again, laying me on the mattress we used as bed. I helped her take of the rest of my armor, lifting my hips so she could get rid of them.

 

She took a moment to stare at me, completely naked and at her mercy. Her hands travelled from my collarbones, to my hips and to my chest once again, leaving a burning, trembled skin wherever she touched me. Then she looked at me, giving me the look she saved for these moments. A look of total love and devotion, like I was her everything, like she was falling in love with me for the first time, all over again **_“Xena”_ **.

 

I took her face into my hands and kissed her fiercely, like I would never get to do that again. Our lips fought against each other as if we were fighting for our lives. I rolled over her, straddling her hips - an immediate gasp leaving both of lips at the feeling of your sexes against one another.

 

I took her arms and raised them above her head, my hands holding hers still as my tongue began descending from her lips to her neck, and then to her chest, stopping only to suck at her pulsing points. When my lips finally reached her breasts, Xena lifted her hips in response and I slowly started to ride her leg, a moan leaving my lips and the sensation that was starting to arise.

 

Xena opened her mouth to complain, but instead of words, a loud, deep moan escaped from her lips as she felt two of my fingers entering her. She was so wet. Her hips jerked from the mattress when I took them off almost completely, just to enter her again, with more pressure. I could feel my own wetness tainting her leg as I moved my hips on top of it, but it wasn’t enough, and she knew it.

 

Xena easily freed herself from my hand holding her arms above her head as I continued to slowly fuck her, she brought her chest against mine, our breasts rubbing against each other. She slipped one hand between my legs, the other one on my back, to give us some support.

 

Xena teased before entering me, the tip of her fingers scratching the skin right to where she knew I needed her, the tip of her fingers barely touching my pubic hair **_“Xena, please”_ ** I breathed on her ear, not even recognizing my own voice, for it was so hoarse with desire. She gave me a smartass smile, acting like she knew no one else could make me feel the things she did, which it wasn’t a lie. I didn’t have to ask twice.

 

She entered me, a loud gasp leaving my lips, and for a small fraction of time, I forgot about my hands between her legs. Then we locked our gazes and started a slow rhythm. She pressed the palm of her hand against my clit as I pushed myself ever further into her. It didn’t take us long to increase the pace, our breathing becoming more erratic with every thrust, our chests coming up and down.

 

She kissed me as she put yet another finger inside me and I bite her lips as I did the same to her **_“Fuck.”_ ** I heard one of us saying before we joined our lips, trying to taste each other as much as possible. The kiss was messy as our hands worked faster inside each other, teeth clashing when Xena pulled me even closer against her, her nails leaving certain scars on my back as she shut her eyes. I heard myself mumbling some thing, although I had no idea what I was saying. Our panted breath becoming ever so more unstable. _She was close_. And so was I.

 

My head fell back, a loud cry escaping from my mouth when Xena thrusted herself further into me. The sight of the pleasure she gave me was enough to make her come too, her teeth seeking the skin of my exposed neck, biting right at my pulsing point. I felt her walls clenching around my fingers so hard it was almost impossible for me to move inside her. She removed her fingers from within me and resumed to stroke my entrance. I held on to her all the while we stride out our orgarms, like I was holding on to dear life, our bodies impossibly close, as if were one but one soul.

 

We crashed on the mattress, laying next to each other. She caressed my back, her other hand behind her head as a pillow. I gave her my warmest smile. She always looked so peaceful after our love making, not any kingdom ever had a most beautiful sight than the one I had in front of me. She was like my own personal goddess. She smiled back at me whilst I removed my fingers from inside her, that big, bright smile she saved for the times we were alone.

 

I rested my face against her neck, laying my head on her arm, listening to her panted breathing slowly coming down. We stayed like this for a few minutes, reveling ourselves in our own Elysian Fields before we had to deal with the war that waited us outside that room. I could feel her eyes fixed upon me **“Gabrielle…”** her voice was grave, not the usual playful tone she used after sex. I didn’t raise my head, for I didn't want her to see me with tears in my eyes **“Wherever you go, know that I’ll always be at your side.”** her voice was close to a whisper, but I could hear the crack beneath it.

 

I wiped my face on her neck and pushed myself up on one arm, staring deep into her eyes. We didn’t want to say it - the mere thought was more painful to me than a thousand arrows cutting through my flesh and bones. I put aside a few strands of dark hair that were on her face as I leaned towards her, whispering those three words just before pressing my mouth against her red lips **“I love you.”**.

 

In my heart, I knew that the same love that had brought us here, would bring us back again. No matter how many lives we lived, we would always find each other again. My hand laid on her naked, unveiled bosom **“I love you too”** I felt her lips touch my forehead on fond and tender kiss.

 

 **“Let’s go. We got a battle to win.”**  


_The violin, the poet's hand,  
_ _every thawing heart plays your theme with care._

**Author's Note:**

> The title is the name of a song, by Nightwish. The first and last phrases are parts of the lyrics.  
> I suggest you listen, is quite heartbreaking and utterly beautiful.


End file.
